Geek.com reproduces an alleged email exchange with Valve's Gabe Newell saying we should expect the Linux version of the Steam client before the end of this year (presumably by the end of 2013, Valve Time). An email to Valve's Managing Director asked if the client will be released to the public by the end of this year, and the long, drawn out response Gabe purportedly supplied was "Yes." Thanks Ant via Slashdot.

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Jun 6, 2012, 10:02:What we need is a credible alternative to Windows to keep Microsoft under pressure. Just take Windows 8 - it's quite a dramatic shift in paradigm and end users have little choice in the matter. There's only so long people can hold out with Win7. And it's unhelpful that Apple has so actively shunned game on Mac, as it leaves Windows as the only viable gaming platform.

I agree. Not only that, Microsoft is giving the desktop second-class citizen treatment (no access to the latest Windows APIs, no free dev tools) and putting all its focus on Metro, where the end users can only get new applications through Microsoft's online store.